The three teenagers accused of abducting, raping and robbing a Garden District woman at gunpoint on Feb. 4 have apparently dissolved their alleged crime trio. Two of the teens identified the others a few days after the assault, leading to the arrests of all three, prosecutors said at a court hearing on Monday,

Those statements and identifications, which were recorded, were the subject of a hearing in which attorneys for Christopher Davis, 18, Joseph Davis, 17, and Sheldon Jefferson, 15, sought to limit the damage they could cause for the teens at trial. Police also recovered DNA from all three suspects, from the woman and possibly also from the car used in the crimes. Prosecutors have submitted evidence indicating DNA matches.

Christopher Davis and Joseph Davis, who are not related, and Jefferson each sat with his attorney away from the others on Monday morning for a lengthy hearing before Criminal District Judge Franz Zibilich. At issue was the admissibility of statements and identifications made by Christopher Davis and Sheldon Jefferson.

Jefferson surrendered to police first, after his mother saw his image on a video distributed by police from an ATM where the woman's cash was withdrawn amid the beating and raping spree. At the police station, according to testimony from New Orleans police detective Derrick Williams, Jefferson admitted his role and quickly fingered Joseph Davis, but he said he knew the third teen only by a nickname and through a mutual friend.

"Mr. Jefferson was very cooperative," Williams said.

Police contacted the mutual friend, tracked down Christopher Davis -- the alleged driver of the car -- and brought him in for an interview, Williams said. In the meantime, they put his photo in a "six-pack" lineup, a group of six pictures, from which prosecutors say Jefferson identified him. Jefferson also pegged Joseph Davis through a single "confirmation" photo handed to him by police.

Two of the three teenagers allegedly approached a 30-year-old woman as she walked from her car to her home on Eighth Street. They forced her at gunpoint into a nearby car. They then drove her around for an hour, with Sheldon and Joseph Davis -- suspected of wielding a pistol -- allegedly sexually assaulting her. They also stopped by ATMs to force her to withdraw cash.

They took her back to her block, stole her car and pushed her out of a moving vehicle, police say. The woman was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for cuts, bruises and scratches.

Each of the teens has been indicted on four counts of aggravated rape and one count each of aggravated kidnapping and armed robbery. The Orleans Parish district attorney's office has elected to try Jefferson and Joseph Davis, although juveniles, as adults along with Christopher Davis. All three appeared in court in orange jail scrubs and shackles, each held in lieu of $5.5 million bail.

At first, Christopher Davis wouldn't speak to police. But according to detective Williams, he eventually gave a recorded statement with details of the crime.

Neither the video nor the audio of the interviews were played in court. Christopher Davis' attorney, public defender Patrick Joseph, put the teen's father on the stand to testify that police didn't initially read his son his rights when he was taken in for questioning. Judge Zibilich balked at that argument, saying Christopher Davis was twice read his rights before giving his statement to police.

Zibilich complained that prosecutors had not earlier provided him the statements or the photo lineup in which Jefferson pinpointed Joseph Davis, and he postponed a ruling on the identifications and statements until he reviews them with defense attorneys. But the judge rejected arguments to keep the contested evidence from a jury, should the case ever go to trial.

In the meantime, Joseph Davis remained silent, presumably the only defendant not to cough up information on the crime or his alleged cohorts. His attorney, Robert Jenkins, indicated that he would seek to have his client tried separately.

Friends of the victim have set up a website to raise money for her recovery.